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Getting stuff into space is difficult. There are a bunch of different rockets that have been used over the last few decades, but the odds of a launch failure isn't quite zero yet. A few companies are making cheaper launch systems, but a perfect track record is hard to maintain over more than a handful of launches. Perhaps that's why sentient robots in the movies never think about leaving the Earth behind.

Three failed resupply missions to the International Space Station (ISS) have occurred over the last 8 months. Orbital Sciences is shifting away from using 1960s-era Soviet rocket engines that were probably the cause of its launch failure last October. In May, a Russian re-supply mission put its cargo in the wrong orbit. And SpaceX's investigations are ongoing for its recent Falcon 9 explosion. There are actually a few other options for getting supplies to the ISS, and Orbital Sciences will be employing alternative launch systems to fulfill its contract while it works on its replacement engines. [url]

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We've covered a bunch of plans for manned missions to space from amateurs and private companies and various governments. There are three countries that have built space vehicles for people: Russia, China and the US. However, the US hasn't had a launch system for its astronauts made domestically since the retirement of the space shuttle program. NASA is getting closer to having more new launch systems made in the USA, and here are just a few links on the topic.

from the urls-we-dig-up dept

Over the last few years, there have been plenty of crowdsourcing platforms to find solutions to difficult problems. And we've seen some brilliant examples of challenges solved via this method. But it doesn't work every time (nor should anyone expect it to). Here are just a few more open contests to find some innovative answers.